christmaslights and groupportrait - lighting?

[alexwick]

Hey, first post here. Been listening to the podcast for a while now and made it to my first forumpost.
I got a question about christmaslights and groupportrait lighting.
So I friend asked me to take some photos for Christmas of his family. It's a family of 5. So last time I drove by there house I saw that they have very beautiful outside Christmas decoration (lights) on there house. Now I thought that might be a great background for a groupe portrait. Just wondering what settings would be best to capture the lights, but also Not loose there faces in the dark environment... any suggestions on settings, and if to use a flash / soapbox / umbrella?

[alexwick]

Nobody any idea? Shoot is tonight ?

[Iguanasan]

Wow, sorry no one saw this one, Alex. First off, welcome to the forum. I'm sure we'll be able to help out better as time goes forward but time is short for you now.

It's really tricky to be out in the dark and hope to light up their faces and not wash out the Christmas lights. That's a really tricky lighting situation and I'm not sure that I would try it unless it's just an "extra".

Not sure what kind of gear you have at your disposal so it's hard to say for sure but here's what I would do if I was trying to do that particular shot. One, you need the flash to light up their faces and only their faces so you'll want to make it fairly directional or set up the shot so the flash doesn't hit the lights. I think you will want to make sure the camera is set to 2nd curtain sync too. This way you can capture the lights of the house with a relatively slow shutter speed and then freeze flash the subjects for a clean portrait shot. Again, I'd consider doing that type of shot as an extra and see if you can get some well lit decorations as a backdrop for the main shoot as they'll need to hold fairly still for a slow shutter shot.

Please note that I'm not a pro at this, this is just the way I got the shot below - others may have better advice but I fear you may not get it in time.

This one - http://www.photography.ca/Forums/f21/christmas-portrait-12999.html - was shot with the following settings:

ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/4 sec (the camera was on a tripod but my daughter held very still!)
Aperture: 1.8
Flash: No (using the flash would have washed out the Christmas lights)

Do they have a fireplace and mantle with decorations? You want to avoid it being busy but at the same time give holiday cues.

Not sure what time you are starting either but it would be good if it was before the sun set and you could get some sunlight to help you out... the "blue hour" would likely be best. Just after sunset but before total darkness of evening depending upon the directionality of the sunlight, etc.

I hope this helps. Sorry, again, that you first post got missed :(

[Richard]

Hey Alex, Welcome to the forum, Iggy gives some good pointers here.

my take would be expose your shot for the Christmas tree lights, then add your flashes when your happy with the basic shot. you might need to grid, snoot or flag your extra lights so they light only where needed. You probably would get more consistent results if you use manual flash over TTL, and use the lowest power setting, then chimp it up to get the result you want.

Hope it goes well for you.

[Marko]

Sorry we missed this Alex and welcome!
Good advice in this thread. Many ways to go here..
You wrote
"flash / soapbox / umbrella?" Just as an FYI it's a softbox.
If you've never used one, then I'll suggest an 'easier setup'.
If the tree is outside (I'm not sure if you want to take the photo indoors or outdoors but I'll assume outdoors) take the shot around sunset time so that It's not too dark. Pose the family in front of the tree by at least 10 feet or so. Use fill flash at -3 or minus -2
Hope that helps - Marko